Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Idaho against federalized child support

An Idaho House panel voted 9-8 on Friday to kill legislation to bring the state into compliance with federal child-support collection rules after some lawmakers said they were concerned about Sharia law influencing Idaho's enforcement authority.

Idaho child support program director Kandace Yearsley said the committee's decision has placed Idaho at risk of losing nearly $46 million in federal child-support funding as well as access to the federal enforcement tools used to collect child-support payments from parents living in other states.

But some members of the House committee said they were concerned the bill was tied to an international convention regarding cross-border recovery of child-support payments. Rep. Heather Scott and Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, both Republicans, said they feared the bill could force Idaho to enforce child-support rulings made under Islamic law or foreign tribunals.

"There is no specific language in the bill that would protect the rights of those dealing with parentage, child support and support orders from a foreign country that would contradict our laws here," Nuxoll said, adding she would change her vote on the bill to "no" if she could. "There are other countries listed in the treaty —France, Belgium— that have recognized sharia courts as quasi-courts. So I just feel that you should be aware of those facts."

Idaho Health and Welfare Department officials plan to meet with U.S. Health and Human Services representatives this week. They expect to have 60 days to find a solution from that point.

"This is a new experience for Idaho," the department said in a statement Monday. "We have been told the federal support for Idaho's Child Support Program will end if Idaho is not in compliance."

Without federal tools, parents who are owed child-support payments will have no means to receive them. Idaho uses federal programs to process child support payments.

About 80 percent of payments are taken from paychecks, but noncompliance would prevent Idaho from making such collections.

There are about 50 things wrong with American child support, and the possibility of enforcement relating to Sharia law is way down at the bottom of the list. Eg, Walter Scott being shot by a cop. Millions of people get screwed by it, and no one cares.

Sharia law? Are they joking? I understand not wanting to comply with Sharia law, but I am not sure they even have child support.

This news item demonstrates that the federal government provides most of the funding for child support collection agents in every state and county. These bureaucrats are nominally employed by state and county government, but their budgets are funded by the federal government, under uniform rules passed by Congress and administered by a federal agency.